Games Workshop went all in on April Fools this year. "The Emperor Protects: A Warhammer 40,000 Musical" features fully costumed Space Marines and Adepta Sororitas (the armoured warrior nuns of the 41st Millennium) singing original songs on a real stage, and the community is already begging for it to be a real show.
The launch trailer runs two and a half minutes and includes numbers called "Suffer Not the Alien To Live," "My Collection," and "There Is Only the Emperor," billed as the ballad of the Dark Millennium. Necrons also make an appearance. The joke lands because it is such a sharp contrast to Warhammer's usual tone of grim speeches and cathedral-sized misery. Watching a Battle Sister hit a high note in full power armour is something you do not forget.
What sets this apart from throwaway April Fools content is the production effort. The team composed original music, wrote lyrics, built sets, and put real performers through rehearsals in full Warhammer costumes. Behind-the-scenes footage on Warhammer TV shows just how much work went into it.
The YouTube comments are full of fans saying they would pay for tickets. Given that the Amazon Warhammer TV series is still in development and the freshly announced 40K 11th Edition arrives in June, Warhammer hype is running high. The musical is a joke, but the enthusiasm behind it is completely genuine.
Sources: Warhammer Community | PC Gamer | Fragster